The Week That Was…

Published 3:37 pm, Friday, April 22, 2016

These are just a few of my thoughts on what has transpired at the state and national levels in sports during the past week.

Perfectly Pathetic…

…In the storied history of the NFL, there has never been a team that went 0-16.

With just three games remaining, it seems all but inevitable for the Lions.

They missed their best chance at a victory, falling to the Vikings, 20-16, on Sunday.

Detroittravels to the red-hot Colts this week, before finishing at home vs. 7-6 New Orleans (Week 16) and at 5-8 Green Bay (Week 17).

Although the Packers’ record isn’t impressive, I don’t see how the Lions go on the road and find a way to win at Lambeau Field, a place that hasn’t treated them kindly over the years.

If the Lions finish this, and go 0-16, they must go down as one of the worst teams in the history of professional sports.

The NFL is in a time of balance, where every team has a chance to win and make the playoffs. The league is set up to prevent teams from going winless, or winning them all, it’s what makes it unique from other professional sports leagues.

New Englandtried to buck that trend last season only to lose in the Super Bowl.

Logic says there’s no way a team can go winless, it just can’t happen.

The Detroit Lions have always defied logic, though.

This is their destiny. Ownership brought this on itself and is now paying the consequences.

Raiola lets loose…

…Following the loss to the Vikings on Sunday, Lions’ center Dominic Raiola made an obscene gesture to the fans.

It’s obvious Raiola is frustrated. Who wouldn’t be?

However, it’s completely unacceptable for him to flip off the fans and challenge them to a fight.

Listen, the fans didn’t make you 0-13, and on the doorstep of 0-16. The players, coaches and ownership did.

You should be happy that anyone still shows up to see the games on Sundays. The Lions barely drew 50,000 fans for Sunday’s loss as it continued a trend of the team getting blacked out from being seen in the local market.

Raiola was fined $7,500 by the NFL and made no apologies for his actions.

And there is the problem. He thinks because the fans that actually spent their money to see that pathetic display of football aren’t entitled to voice their displeasure.

Not Clicking…

…It’s been a while since I’ve been able to write a column (my apologies for that), so I haven’t been able to address the trade that brought Allen Iverson to the Pistons in exchange for Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets.

For the record, I didn’t like it at the time. And I really don’t like it now.

On Tuesday, the Pistons lost to the Wizards, who had just three wins prior to the game.

The loss drops them to 11-9 overall, 7-9 since the trade.

Meanwhile, the Nuggets are leading their division.

There’s no doubt the difference is Billups.

He was the glue that held the Pistons together, and he’s bringing the Nuggets together.

Normally, I don’t question too many moves Joe Dumars pulls (his track record speaks for itself), but it was obvious that Billups was not a problem for the Pistons.

Comparing Billups to Iverson, there’s no doubt Iverson is the more dynamic player.

There’s more to the NBA than just being a great player. There have been plenty of great players who have never won championships.

It’s the ones that have the ability to make those around them better that are truly special. Iverson has never been able to do that in his career while it’s becoming painfully obvious that Billups is able to do that.

BCS is a Mess…

…Once again, the BCS has dropped the ball on the national championship.